Yoshiaki Ashikaga

Yoshiaki Ashikaga (1537-1557) was the Commissioner for Warfare for the Ashikaga Shogunate. He was the second son of Yoshiharu Ashikaga.

Biography
Yoshiaki was the second son of Ashikaga daimyo Yoshiharu Ashikaga, who was the 11th Shogun of the Ashikaga Shogunate. He was self-centred like the rest of his snobbish aristocrat family, and had low generalship skills and rank. He was promoted to become Commissioner for Warfare to bolster his fighting skills in case of a pressing threat.

In 1556, he was the victim of an asssassination attempt by Oda clan ninja Yorifuji, sent to kill him to weaken the defenses of Kyoto. Yorifuji entered the tower where Yoshiaki was viewing the defenses of the city, and rushed up to him. Yorifuji threw Yoshiaki over the balcony, but he narrowly survived. Wounded, he was put out of action for a while.

In 1557 Yoshiaki met his end along with the shogun when Nobunaga Oda laid siege to Kyoto. He was killed along with his father when the Oda clan army stormed the city and won a pyrrhic victory over the large and experienced Ashikaga army.